Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 136: Inferno infiltrator

"Priest Maya, just now... Helena and Gideon are dead," Grand Duke Theodore said gravely.

Priest Maya froze for a moment before asking, "What happened?"

"They found traces of Inferno in Molten Gold Gorge. And worse—it was an Infernal Lord," Grand Duke Theodore replied.

"An Infernal Lord?!"

Priest Maya’s expression darkened as she grew serious. "Grand Duke Theodore, are you sure about this?"

"Of course. I wouldn’t lie about something like this," Grand Duke Theodore said in a low voice.

Priest Maya’s eyes flickered with thought. After a brief pause, she turned to Grand Duke Theodore. "We need to see Roland." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Roland—an 11th-tier Cavalier hero of the Castle faction, a C-rank orange Legendary hero, and, like her, a subordinate of the Wisdom Angel.

However, unlike Priest Maya, Roland was proud and straightforward—sometimes to the point of arrogance. And when it came to Grand Duke Theodore, the Castle faction’s puppet ruler, Roland had little respect or deference.

In fact, Theodore had no real authority over him.

Because of that, Theodore usually avoided dealing with Roland. He had no interest in throwing himself at someone who barely acknowledged him. But now, there was no choice. An Infernal Lord appearing meant this was no trivial matter.

He had to bite the bullet.

With that thought, Grand Duke Theodore nodded. "Alright..."

With that, they left the radiant white temple and made their way toward an imposing high-tier Cavalier training ground.

"Maya? Grand Duke Theodore? Well, this is a surprise. What brings you here?" Roland asked, his tone proud as he sat atop his warhorse, looking down at them.

Hearing that, Grand Duke Theodore’s expression darkened. He already felt irritated.

"Roland, this is serious! Gideon and Liora are dead—killed by an Infernal Lord!" Priest Maya said immediately.

"Infernal Lord?"

Roland stiffened slightly, his expression shifting. After a moment, he dismounted and gestured for them to follow. "Come with me."

Before long, they arrived at the Champion Knight training ground’s lounge.

Roland turned to Grand Duke Theodore and got straight to the point. "Tell me everything that happened."

Grand Duke Theodore kept his face impassive as he recounted the events.

It had started with Seymour discovering someone secretly slaughtering civilians. Then, they found traces of an Inferno hero—only for Seymour to be killed by an Inferno Devil. After that, Helena, Gideon, and Ignatius had gone to Molten Gold Gorge...

"Infernal Lord, mass civilian slaughter, Inferno Devils... Could it be Hell Gate?" Roland muttered, his expression grim.

"Hell Gate?" Priest Maya’s face tensed. "That... actually makes sense. An Infernal Lord appearing in the main world is already unusual. And Hell Gate does require a massive amount of corpses and blood to construct."

The thought made Priest Maya murmur with a heavy expression, "Could the Inferno faction be preparing for war again?"

At those words, both Grand Duke Theodore and Roland, the Castle faction’s Cavalier hero, fell silent.

A heavy sense of dread settled over them.

For the three great evil factions, war was a game—entertainment. But for those who cherished the sun, the light, and peace, war was nothing short of a catastrophe.

"Wasn’t there a Light Alliance count traveling with them? Where is he?" Roland suddenly asked.

Grand Duke Theodore hesitated for a moment before replying, "I don’t know. There was no mention of him in the reports Ignatius and the others sent back."

"Grand Duke Theodore, we need to meet this man," Roland said firmly.

"You think he’s suspicious?" Priest Maya asked.

"I’m not ruling it out. Besides, Valkarion? This guy practically appeared out of thin air. We need more information on him," Roland said coldly.

Hearing that, Grand Duke Theodore couldn’t help but sneer inwardly, his thoughts laced with sarcasm.

Roland’s words sounded righteous, but in reality, he just wanted to probe this Valkarion and see if he could take control of him.

In the world of Glory Lords X, it was a brutal, cutthroat place—where the strong devoured the weak.

Even if you didn’t go looking for trouble, trouble would come looking for you.

That was just how things worked.

"Grand Duke Theodore, I’ll inform Lord Cain. The moment this so-called Count Valkarion from the Light Alliance shows up, he’s to be brought straight to me," Roland said as he stood up.

Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, as if he owned the place.

Grand Duke Theodore’s expression darkened, a flicker of killing intent flashing in his eyes. But in the end, he forced it down.

Without another word, he stood up as well.

"Priest Maya, I’ll be going now."

Priest Maya, already used to this kind of behavior, simply sighed and nodded.

...

A few hours later, Grand Ducal Palace.

Ethan and Grand Duke Theodore met once again.

"Grand Duke Theodore, you’re telling me that Roland, the Cavalier hero of the Castle faction, wants to see me?" Ethan asked, frowning.

"Yes," Grand Duke Theodore said, his tone flat, though his expression was grim. "To be honest, Count Valkarion, your existence is a complete blank to everyone. No one knows anything about you. And now, Roland has taken... an interest in you."

Ethan’s face darkened. He immediately understood what "a little interest" really meant.

In other words, Roland had set his sights on him.

"Count Valkarion, what exactly happened in Molten Gold Gorge? And what about the Infernal Lord?"

At that moment, Grand Duke Theodore spoke up again, directing his question at Ethan.

Ethan lifted his gaze toward the Grand Duke but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he replied with a pointed remark.

"Grand Duke Theodore, you’re not doubting me, are you?"

Theodore’s expression remained unchanged as he responded coolly.

"I had my suspicions before, but not anymore. If you were really an Inferno spy, there’d be no reason for you to come back. You could’ve just stalled for time until the Hell Gate was fully constructed."

Ethan blinked in surprise before shaking his head with a chuckle.

Of course. Anyone who could sit on a throne wasn’t an idiot. Some things were just that obvious—one hint, and they’d figure it out immediately.

With that thought, Ethan smiled and said, "Because of the suppression from the laws of the Prime World, that Infernal Lord was taken down by our forces. And the Hell Gate? Destroyed."

"Seriously?!" Grand Duke Theodore froze for a moment before his face lit up with excitement.

Ethan smirked and pulled out the remnants of the Hell Gate. This wasn’t something that could be faked. Unless the gate had truly been destroyed, there was no way to find wreckage like this anywhere else.

Just then, a commanding, almost overbearing voice rang out from outside the door.

"Grand Duke Theodore, let me take a look!"

A second later—BANG!—the door swung open with a heavy thud.

A man strode in without hesitation—Roland, a Cavalier hero from the Castle faction. His entrance was met with darkened expressions from both Ethan and Grand Duke Theodore, but Roland didn’t seem to care. He walked straight up, picked up the Hell Gate remnants, and examined them closely.

After a moment, he muttered, "Yeah... this is definitely from a Hell Gate. Judging by the damage, it was destroyed within the last day or two..."

"Grand Duke Theodore, my apologies..."

At that moment, another figure entered the room—Priest Maya, her face carrying an apologetic expression.

At the same time, Ethan’s eyes flickered as he caught a glimpse of Roland and Maya’s rough status panels.

[Maya]

Faction: Castle – Subordinate of Wisdom Angel Cain

Level: 54

Race: Human

Tier: Orange Legendary Hero

Class: Light Priest

Attack: 41

Defense: 23

Spell Power: 198

Knowledge: 155

HP: 5000

Damage: 34~81

Magic Damage: 264~371

Overall Rating: D-Tier Orange Legendary Hero

[Roland]

Faction: Castle – Subordinate of Wisdom Angel Cain

Level: 66

Race: Human

Tier: Orange Legendary Hero

Class: Cavalier of the Castle Faction

Attack: 288

Defense: 165

Spell Power: 32

Knowledge: 16

HP: 35,000

Damage: 462~601

Magic Damage: 44~82

Overall Rating: C-Tier Orange Legendary Hero

"Damn... they’re insanely strong..."

Ethan’s eye twitched as he took in their terrifying stats. He couldn’t help but feel a wave of shock ripple through him.

A pure spellcaster like Light Priest Maya was one thing, but what the hell was up with this Cavalier hero Roland having 288 Attack?

Was this the true power of high-level, second-awakening Orange Legendary Heroes?

Because if so... this was way too over the top.

Just as Ethan was processing this, Grand Duke Theodore spoke in a low voice.

"Roland, I’m afraid you’ll have to handle this personally."

Roland lifted his head at the words, locking eyes with the Grand Duke. After a brief pause, he shifted his gaze toward Ethan and asked coldly,

"You’re saying that Infernal Lord was killed by your people?"

Ethan nodded calmly. "Yeah."

"Where is the one who killed him? I want to meet them." Roland demanded immediately.

Ethan shook his head. "Sorry, that’s not happening."

"Why not? Or are you hiding something?" Roland’s tone was sharp, his eyes narrowing as he pressed forward. "I need to see the person who took down the Infernal Lord. Otherwise, I have every reason to suspect you’re an Inferno spy!"

Ethan’s expression darkened instantly. "You think I’m an Inferno spy?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire room tensed up. The atmosphere grew heavy, almost suffocating.

Slowly, Ethan rose to his feet, his gaze locking onto Roland’s cold, indifferent face. His voice was steady, but there was an unmistakable edge to it.

"So, what you’re saying is... you’re accusing me, a Count of the Light Alliance, of being an Inferno infiltrator?"

Roland’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

His stare bore into Ethan, as if silently questioning—Did this guy really just talk back to me?

But Ethan’s words weren’t something Roland could dismiss so easily.

After all, while a Count of the Light Alliance might not be the highest-ranking noble, it was still a position of considerable influence. And more importantly, the Light Alliance wasn’t just the Castle faction—it also included the Tower and Forest factions.

This wasn’t something he could just throw accusations around about without consequences.

Sensing the tension, Priest Maya quickly stepped in. "Count Valkarion, please don’t be upset. Roland is just a little impatient. I apologize on his behalf."

"Hmph!" Roland let out a cold snort but didn’t say anything further.

However, what he didn’t expect was that Ethan completely ignored Maya’s attempt to smooth things over.

Instead, Ethan’s gaze remained locked onto him, his expression icy as he spoke in a slow, deliberate tone.

"If you doubt me, you’re welcome to request an investigation from the Alliance Tribunal. I’ll cooperate fully. But don’t think you can just throw baseless accusations at me and get away with it. Hah... A Cavalier hero from the Castle faction? Acting all high and mighty, huh?"

As he spoke, Ethan took a step forward, closing the distance between them. His eyes were cold, his voice even colder.

"I’ll give you one chance. Say that again."

The entire room froze.

Everyone’s expressions shifted in shock as they stared at Ethan.

Roland’s face stiffened. His jaw clenched, his lips trembled slightly—

But he didn’t say a word.

For a moment, he was completely overwhelmed by Ethan’s presence.

He didn’t dare to push back.

...